How fast could a dog run a marathon

...at least as fast as a snowmobile can go for 90 miles.

The documentary "Happy People" (2012) follows Russian fur trappers in the Siberian Taiga. There is a scene that documents a hunter who travels home non-stop on a snowmobile (that is traveling quite fast) along a 90-mile track of snow-covered track. His hunting dog follows him the whole distance on foot (often breaking his own trail through deep snow). It is quite an amazing scene.

Dogs do run half marathons...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uo4MPO0TmXU

I live at 6500ft and have a wolf malamute mix, we never did a marathon together but I once timed him at 1:56 for a half mile(I was driving in a car he was chasing)...he waded into a creek briefly, we're talking less then 2min recovery, then followed that up with a 3:57 mile, keep in mind he took 2 shits and 4 or 5 pisses also while running...when he was in peak shape, in right weather conditions, and with proper training I have no doubt he could have kept up with any top kenyan marathoners, main problem for a dog is they don't know they are running a race...

I have been running off-and-on with dogs for some 55 years. I had a cockapoo--mix of cocker and poodle--that could keep up with me through seven minute miles for more than 15 miles up and down hills while digressing from time to time to chase animals. I also had border collies that similarly could run with me any distance. I think dogs could definitely run a marathon competitively, if some dog whisperer could explain what was going on, though I have to admit that I cannot recall running with dogs more than around 15 miles.

No way wrote:

A dog couldn't even "run" a marathon. Even the best can barely run 10 miles...Most fatties would beat them.

My border collie can basically run laps around me for 100 minutes, no problem, probably running 30% (or more?)farther than me by poking around off the trail. He can do it on hot summer days as long as he gets water. He could do it when I was in sub 2:30 marathon shape, and on my longest runs in a year when I won the US 50 km.

I spent 6 years studying African wild dogs, following them around in a Land Rover for days at a time. I am confident they could easily outrun my border collie at any distance.

African wild dog >> border collie >> sub-2:30 human

Wild dogs never just put their heads down and run 26 miles for the heck of it, but I am fairly confident they could go well under 2 hours if they had reason to.

For what it's worth I can recall actual data from Knut Schmidt Nielsen from a Thomson's gazelle that was trained to run on a treadmill with a VO2 max rig on its head and ran 40 kph for 5 km. Move over, K. Bekele!

One or two posters have mentioned that a Dog could run well in distance if it was cold. Dogs lack the ability to cool themselves very efficiently so this is theoretically possible that if the weather was cold they could perform the task.

However, there are some other factors involved as well. Husky dogs in the arctic still heat up fairly quickly with exercise even in the cold, so perhaps if they were completely shaven this would help to dissipate the heat. But this would expose them to the extreme cold and although it would help cool their bodies, their muscles would not be able to perform under extremely low temperatures, and their fur/hair is actually what helps them to survive in the cold in order to protect their vital organs and prevent hypothermia.

For more insights into this or other issues you can follow @jclooch on twitter.

One sort of evidence that some dogs can run long distances very well is that many dogs actually do it, such as sled dogs and dogs that "train" with human runners. Another sort of evidence is the anecdotal kind, some of which has been reported on this thread, about dogs that are apparently totally "untrained" following runners on long runs. I think that sort of evidence shows well that at least some dogs are naturally very well suited to long distance running.

Here is my example. My wife is Greek and I spend time in Greece most summers. Last summer we spent a few days on the Greek Island of Spetses, which like virtually all of Greece is very hilly (the islands are, after all, mountains sticking out of the sea) and very hot during the summer. One morning I was followed on my run from beginning to end by a local dog that looked like a standard Greek hound. In Greece, dogs tend to hang around everywhere, and many of them are (as I suppose this one was) basically free, i.e., live on the street and don't belong to anyone but are sometimes fed consistently by the same people. Anyway, that day I ran 8 miles slowly (maybe 7 minute pace) up and down very steep hills the whole way. The dog ran easily with me the entire way, like it was the easiest thing in the world for him. It was clear that he was outside his usual territory because other dogs we ran by challenged him we he approached, so I doubt he had ever (or at least often) run like that before. The heat and the hills were apparently no problem for him at all. He did start panting some by around halfway, but I gave him some water a couple times and he seemed to be having a blast. Even at that slow pace, very few human non-runners could handle 8 miles on such hills under the Greek summer sun.

mopoff wrote:

... Even at that slow pace, very few human non-runners could handle 8 miles on such hills under the Greek summer sun.

I would hazard to say that damned near zero non-runners could handle 8 miles at a 7 minute pace on some fairly serious hills on a hot summer day.

easy, but the dog would need to train with a 40lb weighted vest. if the dog did a solid year of training, gradually increasing the amount of miles it could run at 4:34 pace with the vest on, it could run at least 1:59.99 in the marathon

African dogs wrote:

Could a dog go under 2:00 hours.

Even if there are a few breeds that can go 2 or just under that doesn't make them the superior endurance species. Humans can run 24 hours without stopping. Slower pace, but could eventually run down any animal breed in a day or so.

What makes you think a dog can't run for 24 hours straight? Just throw the dog a hamburger every hour and let it can take quick drinks from streams and I am sure they could run just as far and long as humans.

I have a Bull Terrier. On an out and back course, I predict he would sprint 26.2 meters, coral some stragglers, play, wrestle, and goof around for 1 hour, get a whiff of some dog pee, sniff around for 20 minutes, fall asleep, wait for the other dogs to come back, and sprint the last 26.2 meters, and being totally convince that he won the race.

When he was a younger, I used to try to take him running, and he would sprint all out, slow to a jog, then a walk, then spread eagle to a dug-in stop on the sandy trails, done in 1 mile, and just lay in the creek.

'One or two posters have mentioned that a Dog could run well in distance if it was cold. Dogs lack the ability to cool themselves very efficiently so this is theoretically possible that if the weather was cold they could perform the task.'

This is being exaggerated I had a mixed breed dog and it would run pretty much the same when it was hot. In any case most marathons are run in cooler conditions.

Other have mentioned a husky well obviously in hot weather you would pick a different breed.

Dogs have good endurance and their speed is so much better than humans breaking 2 hours is no going to be a problem for a reasonable trained one

An athletic domestic dog like a collie or dalmation or a wild dog like the African Hunting Dog or wolf could smash that

Here is the clip that Direct Evidence referred to:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVJHmpHH-lA

Dog ran ~150km in -30F temps without eating.

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Direct Evidence wrote:

...at least as fast as a snowmobile can go for 90 miles.

The documentary "Happy People" (2012) follows Russian fur trappers in the Siberian Taiga. There is a scene that documents a hunter who travels home non-stop on a snowmobile (that is traveling quite fast) along a 90-mile track of snow-covered track. His hunting dog follows him the whole distance on foot (often breaking his own trail through deep snow). It is quite an amazing scene.

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concerned dog owner/physio wrote:

One or two posters have mentioned that a Dog could run well in distance if it was cold. Dogs lack the ability to cool themselves very efficiently so this is theoretically possible that if the weather was cold they could perform the task.

However, there are some other factors involved as well. Husky dogs in the arctic still heat up fairly quickly with exercise even in the cold, so perhaps if they were completely shaven this would help to dissipate the heat. But this would expose them to the extreme cold and although it would help cool their bodies, their muscles would not be able to perform under extremely low temperatures, and their fur/hair is actually what helps them to survive in the cold in order to protect their vital organs and prevent hypothermia.

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Direct Evidence wrote:

...at least as fast as a snowmobile can go for 90 miles.

The documentary "Happy People" (2012) follows Russian fur trappers in the Siberian Taiga. There is a scene that documents a hunter who travels home non-stop on a snowmobile (that is traveling quite fast) along a 90-mile track of snow-covered track. His hunting dog follows him the whole distance on foot (often breaking his own trail through deep snow). It is quite an amazing scene.

No, not nearly as fast as a snowmobile CAN go for 90 miles. Only as fast as that snowmobile DID go for 90 miles. And how fast DID that snowmobile driver choose to drive his snowmobile? Pretty obviously, about as fast as he thought his dog would be comfortable with.

So, in conclusion, a dog can go for 90 miles at least as fast as a dog can comfortably run for 90 miles.

Not a whole lot of information.

J.R. wrote:

A friend of mine in high school had his 2 dogs chase us in a car. They were just regular mid sized dogs but I don't remember what kind. They kept up chasing us for a mile going 30 mph. I was very impressived.

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A mile is shorter than a marathon.

Does the word Iditarod mean anything to you guys? This is the most popular sport event in Alaska, over 1100 miles, with wind chills up to -100F, and has been won in less than 9 days. That's basically FOUR marathons a day for 9-15 days....pulling a sled.

Anyone who has ever owned a Siberian Husky wouldn't even ask the question. They don't quite have human sprinter speed, but after a mile, you have no chance. For a Siberian, a marathon would be a warmup.

They don't quite have human sprinter speed? Are you still making that claim? A Siberian Husky could beat Bolt over ay distance.

SMJO wrote:

They don't quite have human sprinter speed? Are you still making that claim? A Siberian Husky could beat Bolt over ay distance.

This ^ is true.

Anyone who isn't aware that any real dog (things that get carried around in women's purses don't count) would wipe the floor with ANY human sprinter obviously has never owned a real dog.